Memoirs of a Red Kitten
by FGFH Enterprises
Summary: The official first in a long series of YYH fanfiction. What happens when the daughter of the all-powerful Youko Kurama meets and falls in love with the son of the man he wants to rob? JinxOC.
1. Chapter 1

Memoirs of a Red Kitten

From the Pen of

The Fan-Girl From Hell

Kurama Hollyanna was bored. There was nothing to do and no one to play with. Daddy was out with Uncle Kurone doing whatever they did. Uncle Hiei was out "patrolling" the area around the house. Auntie Koko was down in the kitchen making...Holly sniffed the air...cookies for later. Holly was supposed to be napping, but she wasn't tired. Just bored, bored, bored. She sighed in exasperation.

Sitting on the edge of her bed, she considered her situation. As the only daughter of Youko Kurama and Muna, Second eldest princess of the Nether Realm, she should have been held in fear and respect by multitudes. However as the demon equivalent of a human four-year-old, she was not even considered old enough to travel out to her very own garden alone. She crossed her arms over her chest with a tiny pout.

Then, Holly got a thought. Holding out one hand in front of her, she watched eagerly as a small ball of yellow, crackling energy appeared in her hand. She tossed up into the air before catching it. With a small giggle, she did it again, throwing it higher this time. Then, she created another ball of lightning, throwing them up into the air.

This time, it did not end as well as she would've liked to have hoped. She caught the first ball of lightning easily, but the second came down fast and at an angle. She dove for it, but it hit the ground. Once the other ball made contact with the floor, it also exploded. Sparks of lightning ran up her arms and back into her body, her little face and the ends of her red hair singed and her clothes blackened with soot.

That wasn't the worst part. A giant hole had been made in the floor just a few inches from where Holly had landed. It was also surrounded by soot, but the hole extended down through the other two floors before there was a large char mark in the middle of the kitchen. Holly winced a little, hopping up into bed and pulling the covers to her chin, pretending to be asleep. After all, she recognized that sound of running feet coming up the stairs and down the hall to her room.

The door flew open and Holly saw through her lashes Auntie Koko. Holly screwed her eyes shut tight and began to snore. "Kurama Hollyanna," Auntie Koko said sternly, "that is not going to fool anyone for a moment. You know you are not supposed to play with lightning balls in your room and when you come up for your nap you are supposed to go to sleep."

Holly sighed and opened her eyes. Sitting up, she said, "But Auntie Koko, I was not tired and there's nothin' to do here."

"Then you should lay there quietly and rest, whether you sleep or not."

"Yes, Auntie Koko," she muttered petulantly.

"Do you want me to go get Uncle Hiei to make sure you rest? Again?"

"No!" Holly squeaked in alarm. Uncle Hiei had "helped" her to sleep a few times and it was not something she wanted to repeat. "I'll be good."

Holly laid back down and closed her eyes again. "You'd better be. I have to find him to fix your floor. Again. If you are not asleep when he gets here, I will have him put you to sleep."

"Yes, Auntie Koko," the child muttered, rolling over with her back to the door. Several words that she was not quite sure of the meanings for, but that she was sure did not fit her guardian's definition of "good" scrolled through her mind and she was glad that Auntie Koko could not pluck her thoughts out of the air like Uncle Hiei did.

Koko glared at the child for a moment and then closed the door softly and went downstairs. She put up the signal flag summoning Hiei to return to the house and pulled the tray of burning cookies from the oven with an oath. There were no further sounds from the room at the top of the hole in the ceiling, so apparently Holly had taken her threats seriously this time.

Holly listened to the sounds drifting up from the kitchen, filing away the obviously naughty words Auntie Koko used for the future. She kept her eyes closed in the vain hope that it would promote sleep. She lasted for all of a minute before rolling onto her back and staring at the ceiling in despair. Would no one save her from this boredom?

There was a quiet scratching at her window, but Holly did not notice it, so wrapped was she in her self-pity. The window was open a little and the sound of a quiet "mew" drifted in. Holly remained oblivious. Her attention was captured by the sight of two red paws trying to pry the window open and the sound of a fairly loud "MEW, dammit."

Skirting the hole in the floor carefully, Holly approached the window cautiously. Seeing nothing outside besides a little red kitten, she inched the window open a bit more so that the opening was just large enough for the kitten to squeeze in. "Hello. Ah'll be thankin' ye fer openin' the window and finally lettin' me in."

Holly giggled a little bit. "You talk funny," she whispered. "Did you come to play with me?"

The kitten managed to look slightly offended. "Hrmph! No. Ah didn't come te play wit' ye. I came to take ye to meet yer future husband. He'll be the one playin' wit' ye."

"Oooh," Holly squealed quietly. "Where is he?"

"He's a few miles narth of us. Ah'll take ya there meself, o' course, since yer s'posta be nappin'. Wouldn't do ta have ya stopped at the front door, would it?" The kitten laughed.

"Well, no, but...are you sure it's okay? Auntie Koko said she'd send Uncle Hiei up to put me to sleep if I didn't."

"Well, what Auntie Koko don' know won' hurt her." The kitten shrugged. "C'mon, Mum, it'll be fun!"

"Why you call me 'Mum'? Do I get to change my name!"

"Uh..."

"Kurama Hollyana Mum. I kinda like the sound of that!"

"Hrmph." The kitten huffed a breath and then called forth a small grey cloud. "Open the window and hop on. We'll be back before they know we're gone."

Holly did as she was told and they floated out the window and off to the north. A short time later, Holly saw a huge, beautiful castle ahead of them. They drifted around the building until they reached a huge formal garden at the rear. The kitten brought the cloud to the ground near a fountain and told Holly to wait there. Then the kitten vanished into the undergrowth in the direction of the castle.

2


	2. Chapter 2

A short time later, just as Holly was contemplating relieving her overheated condition with a dip in the fountain, the kitten came strolling back, followed by a red-haired boy with a horn sticking out of his hair. His big blue eyes widened at the sight of the little girl by the fountain, her red and gold hair glittering in the sun. Her big green eyes smiled at him as he approached.

"Hi!" Holly greeted them.

"Hullo," The boy responded. "Ah'm Jin. What's yer name?"

"I'm Holly. You sound like the kitty. Are you the person the kitty said would play with me?"

"Aye. We have ta play out here in the garden or me big brother Touya will get mad at me. I'm not supposed ta talk ta strangers." Jin grinned and held out his hand. Holly giggled and took it.

"That's OK. I'm supposed to be home napping anyway. So if you don't tell, I won't." Jin led her further into the garden and they spent a pleasant couple of hours getting acquainted and playing. They would have continued, but there was a sudden blast of cold air over the garden and a wave of frost settled over the area.

"Oops, gotta go. That's Touya's signal fer me ta come in."

"Poor flowers. That Touya is so mean."

"Aye," the red kitten commented, suddenly appearing out of the undergrowth. "That Touya's a putz and ye can tell him I said so."

"Oh, the flowers will be fine," Jin smiled. "But if ye think we should start calling him Touya-Putz, Ah like it. It's a good name fer him."

"Ah didn't say that," the kitten protested, but the two toddlers were ignoring her and chanting "Touya-Putz, Touya-Putz" as they wandered back toward the castle. They were almost there when a young male demon with blue hair and green bangs came up to them. He stopped at the sight of Holly and the kitten walking with Jin. Holly's little hand was firmly grasped in Jin's as they chanted. Touya's face grew cold as he heard what they were saying between the giggles.

"Hi, Touya-Putz," Jin called out. "This is my new friend, Holly. We're goin' ta get married when we grow up."

"Pleased to meet you, Touya-Putz." Holly lisped charmingly as she dropped him a curtsey. It was a little hard because Jin did not let go of her hand, but she did a creditable job of it.

"Pleased to meet you as well, Holly" Touya managed to force out between gritted teeth. "Where did you come from? Do you live near here?"

"Sort of, the kitty brought me here. Uncle Kurone says I came from heaven, but Uncle Hiei says it wasn't nearly that elevated, whatever that means. Hehe."

"Oh. And who are your parents?"

"Well my mommy is Muna, second daughter to Talpa, lord of the Nether Realm, but we don't see her and my daddy is Youko Kurama, the Spirit Fox." She giggled again at the expression on Touya's face as he tried to collect himself.

"I...see." He finally managed. "We are about to have dinner. Would you care to join us?"

"Mew. Sorry ta disappoint, but we need ta get Holly home before her da misses her and comes huntin'. Maybe another time. C'mon Holly." The kitty herded Holly back onto the grey cloud and they were in the air before Touya could get another word out. They were about thirty feet in the air when Jin rose up to join them.

"I'll go with ye ta be sure ya get home without problems," he said, oblivious to the muffled shouts from below.

"Are ye sure that's a good idea, lad?" asked the kitten as she dodged ice pellets flying from The little blue speck in the garden. "Yer brother seems a mite perturbed that yer not with him."

"'s OK. He'll be over it in no time. He's just annoyed because me da left him responsible fer me and he can't follow up here."

They traveled quickly to Kurama's much more modest dwelling and headed toward the window of Holly's room. "Uh-oh. The window's closed," the girl observed. They hovered outside a moment in confusion and then found themselves dragged to the ground by a heavy net. Pulling on the ropes securing the net were Kurama and Hiei on one end and Kurone and Koko on the other end. Both ends were tied off to huge trees. There was no way out for the trio.

"Daddy! Stop it!" Holly called out as soon as she realized what was happening. "It's just me an Jin an the little red kitty and this is starting to hurt me!"

"Holly? Prove it."

"Daddy, you are so suspicious. Here, catch." With that, Holly tossed a glowing ball of lightning down so that it landed just in front of her father. Fortunately, Hiei was fast enough to dodge it as it landed just where he had been standing. "Oops, sorry Uncle Hiei." she giggled.

The net touched down on the ground and opened to reveal the bedraggled contents. Youko scooped Holly free and stood back as the other two were surrounded by drawn weapons. Youko checked Holly over for damage and then set her on the ground in front of him. "What were you thinking, young lady? Disappearing like that and being gone for hours. We thought something horrible had happened to you."

"Hrmph. I was bored and had nobody to play with so when the little kitty showed up and said she could take me to see someone who could play with me and that we would be back before anyone knew we were gone, I went." Holly's little arms were crossed across her chest and she met her father glare for glare. "Nobody here wants to play with me and I never get to go anywhere. I am not a baby any more and I need to get out to play sometimes."

"The little kitty?" Kurama turned and reached into the net for the aforementioned feline. Dragging her out by the scruff of the neck, he held her up at eye level. "So, you just happened to arrive when Holly was bored and you just happened to know where there was another bored child of the same age for her to play with?"

"Mew?" The kitten looked as innocent and brainless as she could. Maybe she could get out of this with a whole skin if they just believed she was a cat.

"Careful, Youko," Hiei advised, glaring at the kitten. "She thinks you can be fooled by her pretending to be a normal cat. Apparently the children were just pawns in this. Better get the boy home before someone comes looking for him. We can question your little furry friend later in privacy without so many wide and innocent eyes around."

"Mew?" The kitten tried again, with a sinking sense of dread and was handed off to Kurone to hold onto. Koko took Holly into the house. Youko and Hiei tried to determine where to take Jin. Kurone took the kitten to the livingroom until Kurama and Hiei got back. He put her into a small cage and amused himself by tossing razor sharp daggers toward it. He never hit the cage, but he got very close. He also discussed his favorite recipes including kitten stew and stir fried kitty bits.


	3. Chapter 3

Hiei and Kurama were back in very little time. Apparently they had met the boy's older brother a few miles from the house and turned the lad over to him. He was grateful to have his brother back, but was not sure how he felt about being so close to the infamous Youko Kurama and his minion. Hiei wasn't sure how he felt being thought of as a minion. But since nothing was said on either side, they left it at that.

When Youko walked into the livingroom and was greeted with a shriek of, "Save me, Grandfather!" from the kitten. He stopped and looked at Hiei who shrugged.

"Grandfather?" he asked, surrounding the cage with small yet dangerous looking plants.

"Erm..I meant...mew?"

"Odd, your accent is almost just the same as that Jin child's. Now why is that?"

"Mew?" The plants tightened their circle around the cage, some of them sliding through the bars to form a closing circle around the desperate kitten. "All right, I'll answer yer questions, drat it all. Jest get these wretched things out of me fur."

The plants retreated to the edge of the cage as Youko waited. The kitten sighed. "The reason me accent is the same as his is because he's me da. He jest doesn't know it yet."

"And you wanted him with Holly because...?"

"Well obviously she's me mum." Kurama looked at Hiei who once again nodded and shrugged.

"They're just children themselves. How can they be your parents?"

"Hrmph. Because Ah came back from the future ta make sure they met. Duh."

"So you are from the future, are you," Hiei leaned over the cage threateningly. "Tell us something that is going to happen to prove it."

"Ah don' think that is a good idea, Uncle Hiei. Ye might try ta change some a them and that could get everythin' mixed up."

"And you don't think that coming back and introducing your parents to each other before they were supposed to meet will mix things up?"

"No, because I happen to know that me parents were introduced ta each other when they were very young by a little red kitty and that's why Grandfather hates...little...red...kittens."

"I don't suppose you know what happened to the little red kitten in question, do you?" Kurama asked, fiddling with a thin shoot of bamboo.

"Er...um...Well, I know she was around fer a while and then she kind of stops showing up in the stories. I think she went back ta her own time and lived happily ever after?"

Youko exchanged a look with Kurone and Hiei and then stood back a bit, tapping his chin with the bit of bamboo. He contemplated the kitten for a few moments before musing, almost to himself, "Perhaps she was captured and forced to divulge all her secrets before being disposed of."

The kitten cowered for a moment before responding. "Ah dun't think sae. After all, ye ARE me grandfather and Ah dun't think ye'll be goin' and doin' somethin' like that ta yer own kin."

"Hn. That proves you really don't know Kurama if you believe that, granddaughter or not. If there's anything he thinks you might have that would help him out, clearly he will use whatever means necessary to obtain it. Kin or no kin."

"That will be enough, Hiei. You needn't frighten the girl to the point of incoherency. After all, that would be counterproductive if we want to obtain information from her. Besides, I am sure she is smart enough to realize she is in an untenable position and has no choice but to cooperate."

"Mew. Ye're a lot easier ta deal with when yer merged wit that human Suichi. Eep!" The last was caused as the cage disappeared and the kitten found herself wrapped to immobility and raised so that she was eye to eye with a very annoyed Youko.

"Merged? With a human? Me? Explain."

"Ah...erm...Oh hell, Ah shouldn' ha said that. Can ye fergit ye heard it?" she asked hopefully. The plants around her tightened in response. "A'right. Ah'll tell ye, but only ye. Damn! Ye got ta make Uncle Hiei and yer other friend there leave the room. Ah can't stop ye from tellin' them whatever ye want to after I tell you, but I won' be responsible fer any damage ta the time-line by sharin more than I have ta with anybody more than I need ta."

"Agreed." He nodded to Hiei and Kurone who left the room and closed the door behind them. "Now, let's start with why you are familiar enough with a minor minion to call him 'Uncle Hiei' and completely unaware of my partner's name."

"Oh, that's the legendary Kurone? Sorry, Grandfather, but there is goin' ta be a terrible event, probably sometime soon and he's gonta die." A look of determination crossed Youko's face which the kitten interpreted correctly. "There's nae use tryin' ta get mare infermation about that from me," she added quickly. "Me infermation comes from Mum and she wasna terrible specific about when things happened when she were little. That's all Ah know and when Ah get born, Hiei is gonta be yer partner and best friend, at least among demonkind. He'll be pretty much the only one ye'll trust at yer back, that's fer sure."

"And this merging with a human boy? When will that happen? HOW will it happen?"

"Again, Ah dun't have all o' the details, but some time t'wards the end of what will be called the twentieth century, yer gonna try one too many stunts and a bounty hunter is gonta get too close. Yer gonta have ta go ta the Human World and hide in the body of an unborn human boy named Suichi Minamino. Ye'll be born into his family and raised by them, but ye get ta retain yer memories of Youko and ye will eventually regain yer powers as well."

"I see." The plants wrapped around the kitten loosened and she was deposited on the table. Youko reached out and scooped her up by the scruff of her neck. "You do realize you have given me just enough information for me to make plans around and yet not enough to actually help, don't you?"

"Sorry, Grandfather. All of this happened before I was born and before me Da and Mum hooked back up. They're gonta get attached ta each other and then fer some reason, yer gonta drag me mum off and hide her away. They won' be back together until they're near grown."

"You do realize I have other plans for Holly when she grows up besides having her marry some brat."

"Mebbe, but when they meet up agin ye'll be nowhere ta be found and by the time ye come back, it'll be too late ta stop em."

"Hmm. So now that you have introduced them there is no way to prevent them from getting together later?"

"Dunno. All Ah know is that they will. And ye won't be there at that time."

"I see. Then there is no further point in discussing it, is there? By the way, do you have a name?"

"A'carse Ah hev a name. But Ah dun want ta tell it ta ye because then ye'll know which of yer granddaughters Ah am as soon as Ah'm born and ye'll be mean ta me ferever instead of jest after ye see me changed ta a kitten."

"So I'm to have more than one granddaughter?"

"Damn, shouldn't a said that either. Yer jest too damn smart fer both our good. Ah need ta go afore I say somethin really stupid and trash the timeline." She looked around, but both doors and all the windows in the room were closed tightly. She looked back up at Youko. "Could ye foind the koindness in yer heart ta open a door, or better yet a window fer me? Ah can go from here, but it would be best if Ah left from the same place Ah arrived from. The better to avoid arrivin inside walls, trees or furniture, don'cha know."

Youko stared at her for a moment before walking over to a window that opened on the front of the house. "We will talk again, Granddaughter. In the meantime, if you can find me more specific times for when things I will not like are bound to happen, I would appreciate the warning. And I will not say anything more than I need to to anyone else in this time. Your precious timelines are safe." He opened the window and she hopped out with a quick mew of thanks and was gone.

Youko sat down and thought hard about the plans he was putting into motion for the next few years. Nothing the kitten had told him would change the plans, but this attachment between Holly and the Storm Lord's son, Jin could become problematic. Oh, not for a while, but sooner or later it was due to become difficult. He hadn't told anyone yet, but he was considering how much longer it would be safe to stay in this house. He had enemies searching for him and if they got a whiff of his location and that he had a daughter, he would have to vanish and her with him. But that time was not yet. Perhaps he should allow the children some time to become acquainted. Connections of that sort could never hurt.


	4. Chapter 4

The kitten arrived irregularly from then on. Sometimes it would be every day and sometimes days would go by with no sign of her. Jin and Holly became inseparable and, inevitably, Jin's father began to take an interest in the little girl his youngest could not stop talking about. He decided that it was time he met the girl. And her rather infamous father.

There was a knock on the door of Youko's modest dwelling a short time later and Koko opened the door to reveal a slightly annoyed Touya. She invited him in and, as was proper, offered him tea. Touya declined and requested to speak with Youko, if he was available. There was a slight curl to his lip that said louder than words that he would rather be doing almost anything, but his tone was impeccably correct for one asking a favor. Koko led him to the den. Where Youko and Kurone were in the midst of a planning session. All speech ended as Koko knocked on the door.

"Youko-sama," she said after having received the command to enter and opening the door, "Touya-san is here to speak to you."

"Please, come in," Youko stepped between Touya and the desk as Kurone collected the assorted diagrams and sketches. "Koko will fetch us some tea."

"Thank you, but I cannot stay," Touya said, inclining his head slightly. "I have been sent by my father to convey an invitation for you and your daughter to dine with us this evening, if you do not already have other plans. He would be most interested in meeting the two of you."

"It would be our honor to join him for dinner," Youko replied. "What time should we arrive?"

"My father will send transportation for you in three hours time, if that is convenient."

"Thank your father for his consideration, but we can travel just as quickly on our own without inconveniencing him," Youko replied.

"Your pardon, sir, but my father has told me to inform you that he will insist on this. He does not have guests so often that he would show them any less than the maximum courtesy."

"In that case, please inform your father that we shall be ready and waiting in three hours time and he has our gratitude for both the invitation and the transportation." What else could he say? Youko and Touya bowed to each other and Touya took his leave, escorted to the door by Koko.

In the den, Youko waited for the sound of the front door closing behind Touya before turning back to Kurone, who was spreading the papers back over the desk again.

"Do you think they suspect something?" Kurone asked nervously.

Youko thought for a moment and then shook his head. "No, I think this is about Holly and Jin. After all, he did specifically ask for her to accompany me. If he had the slightest inkling of our plans, he would have sent a squad of soldiers, not his eldest son. Just in case, though, you, Hiei and Koko need to assemble the emergency escape kits and be ready to go two hours after we leave. Also, if you see anyone outside after we go, wait for us in the escape tunnels. Make sure there is nothing unusual here in the house before our ride gets here."

"Of course. Hiei, Koko and I will prepare everything."

"You'll have to make do with Hiei. Koko is going to need to get Holly ready for this momentous event," Youko started out the door as Kurone started up packing up the paperwork. "After all, it's not every day that a girl meets her future father-in-law."

Koko had her hands full, bathing, dressing and preparing Holly. Holly was so excited that she could not sit still for more than a second at a time until Koko pointed out that if Holly did not sit still she would not be ready and would have to be left at home while her father went to have dinner with Jin and his father alone. Not that she could, but the threat did force the child to settle down and allow her hair to be dried and brushed. She was ready mere seconds before the palanquin carried by six low level demons and escorted by a good dozen warriors arrived.

Youko was expressionless as if unimpressed by this display, but Holly kept peering out in awe. Upon arriving at the Storm King's palace, they were escorted by a series of obviously high-level servants to the dining room where their host and his sons waited. There were a few other guests, but Youko was seated to the right of his host, in the place of honor.

Also waiting, since the children would be dining in a separate area set aside for them, were a few other children including a little girl of about the same apparent age as Holly and Jin. She had curly golden hair and violet eyes set in a sweet little lavender face. Her name was Kiki. She was one of Jin's favorite playmates and his father had had hopes of a match with her until he met Holly.

The dinner went well and the children rejoined the adults after the meal. Holly and Jin sat between their fathers and Kiki shyly slid into the seat just to Youko's other side, looking up at him with a combination of terror and hero-worship. The conversation remained fairly casual with Jin's father asking a few questions about how long Youko would be staying in the area and if he really was retired.

Youko parried the questions with noncommital answers to the effect that he was not sure how long they would be there and he was looking into a new direction for work. Generally they managed to have a genial conversation without saying anything definitive beyond the fact that the children seemed to get along well and should probably be allowed to associate and play together. That decided, the dinner ended and Youko and Holly were sent home in the same manner in which they had arrived.

When they got home, it was to find Kurone, Hiei and Koko waiting anxiously. Youko took Kurone and Hiei into his den to discuss the changes in their situation while Koko took Holly up and put her to bed. Holly was so excited that she thought she would never get to sleep. She chattered excitedly to Koko as she went up the stairs and changed into her pajamas. She was still chattering as Koko tucked her into bed, but she dropped off to sleep as Koko crossed the room and put out the light.


	5. Chapter 5

Koko went down to the den and joined the others. "What did I miss?" she asked as she walked in.

"Not much. The Storm King is of course suspicious of our taking up residence in his vicinity, but if we are patient, that should die down" Youko smiled at his confederates. "He was also concerned that we were using the children to get closer to his household. So we sit tight and let the kids play and get friendly for a while before we make our move. Who knows, I did drop the hint that I was considering genuine employment as someone's security advisor. Perhaps in time he will offer me the position."

Kurone laughed at the last statement while Hiei and Koko tried to catch their breaths since they had been trying to drink some tea when Youko made it. Koko looked at him curiously. "Were you planning to take it?"

Youko sighed, apparently in resignation. "No. He would expect me to swear fealty to him if that were the case and that would play hell with our plans."

"True. You couldn't very well rob the vault you were sworn to protect without breaking your oath and throwing your honor out the window."

"Exactly."

"Hn. I don't suppose you have considered retiring and actually accepting the position?" Hiei smirked as the tea sprayed from both Youko and Kurone's noses. Payback was sweet.

Youko coughed a couple of times before nodding to Hiei. "I might have thought about it, but I am not about to give up my freedom to become some overlord's lackey. Besides, if I did that I'd have to give up these fun discussions with you three."

"Don't you think that turning his kind offer down will make him suspicious all over again?" Koko looked at Youko as he considered.

"No. Not if I explain that I need to keep my options open and that I can't see myself answering to anyone but me."

"So everything continues as planned?" Kurone asked.

"Not quite. We will undoubtedly be under observation for quite some time to come. THOSE plans need to be put away for a few decades in order to put suspicions to rest. In the meantime, we can find 'gainful employment' enough to keep this household going elsewhere. Holly and Jin will continue to spend time together and we may even pick up more information about the main target during those visits."

And so it was agreed. Holly and Jin exchanged visits on a regular basis. Youko and Holly became regular guests at the Storm King's dinner table. Youko was offered a position in the Storm King's household, but turned it down on the basis of needing to retain his freedom. The red kitty continued to visit occasionally and the children grew.

On one particularly nice day, Holly and Kiki were playing in the garden. Jin was stuck indoors since he was required to attend lessons in the mornings. Lots of times, Holly joined him because she genuinely enjoyed learning, but if Kiki was there, the two of them went to the garden to play while Jin had his lessons.

"When we grow up, Jin and I are going to get married," Holly confided in her little friend.

"And when I grow up, I am going to marry your daddy," Kiki said back. "He is the prettiest man I have ever seen. Even prettier than my big brother Sissy."

"Your brother's name is Sissy?"

"No, actually it is Shishi, but when I was littler I could not say that, so I have always called him Sissy. Besides, he hates it."

"Oh. Well Jin's brother's name is really Touya, but the little red kitty said it would be good if we call him Touya-Putz and we liked it, so that's what we call him. And he hates that, too."

"Little red kitty?"

"Yes, she introduced Jin and me and comes back every now and then to see how things are going."

"Oooh, can I meet her? I like kitties."

"I think so. Daddy doesn't really like her, but I think she's nice."

"Growned up boys are weird, huh?"

"Yup. That's why I'm never gonna grow up."

"But if you don't grow up, how can you marry Jin?"

"Hmmm. That is a problem. Maybe Daddy will know."

"But would he tell you? After all, he's growned up and he may not want you to marry Jin and go away from home."

"But he'll have you then so everything will be fine."

The discussion might have continued, but at that moment, the girls heard the sound of someone moving through the garden toward them. They fell silent and huddled down into the undergrowth that Holly had thickened to hide them while they played, trying to smother the giggles at the sounds of a pair of older males swearing at the thorns. The crashing was almost atop them when it stopped and they heard the sound of their names being called.

"We're right here, Sissy," Kiki called out and was rewarded by the sound of her brother jumping in shock and then expressing his aggravation at the thorns that bit him.

"Yes, Touya-Putz. We are coming." Holly and Kiki giggled even more loudly as the pair snarled at the plants while Holly made a clear and thorn-free path for herself and Kiki. Jin was waiting for them at the palace to have lunch.

A few years later, when Holly got back from visiting for several days with Jin, she found the household packed up. Her father told her that there was trouble and he had to send her to live with Koko and Hiei in the Human World for a few years in hiding. He would not tell her where she was going or when she would be back, but he did tell her that if she wanted him to carry a letter for her to Jin, he would deliver it before he himself left.

Holly was very sad and upset, but she did not argue. She had known she and Jin would be separated, but she also knew they would be reunited. The kitty had assured both of them of this, though she did not give details. So Holly wrote her letter to Jin and gave it to her father before departing with her guardians for her new life.


	6. Chapter 6

That night, there was a break-in at the Storm King's palace. The perpetrators got away, but one, Kurone, was later found caught in one of the traps on the grounds, dead. That gave the searchers all the information they needed to start looking for Kurama. In the meantime, the house was being inventoried to see what, if anything they had managed to steal before being detected.

There appeared to be nothing missing, or even touched inside the house until they opened the treasure vault the next morning. What the guardians found was enough to summon the Storm King himself. The vault was completely empty except for a pedestal in the middle with an envelope addressed to the Storm King. No one dared even enter the room until the Storm King arrived to examine it.

Opening the envelope, the Storm King found two letters. One was addressed in an childish hand to his son Jin. The other was addressed to himself. While reading his own letter, he started laughing. He folded it back up and left the vault, still chuckling to deliver Jin's. He also summoned his leading warriors and trackers to a meeting. The guards were all amazed and worried about how well he was taking the loss of his greatest treasures.

After giving Jin his letter, the Storm King joined the assembled forces in the mail hall. The head of his security forces begged to be permitted to commit suicide in shame for permitting such a thing to happen. The Storm King waved his request away. "Don't be ridiculous. That rogue has had free run of this place for decades. The only surprising part is that one of his people fell into one of the traps."

The officer bowed and returned to his place in the crowd. The Storm King looked over all of them. "What has happened has happened and any fault for this event is mine. I not only allowed, but invited this thief into my home. In fact," he held up the letter from the vault, "he even thanked me for making his plans so much easier to complete by allowing him free access. He also said that his daughter, who my youngest son adores and I find charming, had no knowledge of this event and was sent away before the inception."

The Storm King looked at his officers and advisors sternly. "However, now that he has done this thing, I want him found and brought back here to face me himself. If you can find the daughter, even better, although I believe he has sent her somewhere far from here for safe-keeping. Either way, I want him caught. Alive."

The assembled group split into several parties, each of whom delivered orders to even more parties of searchers and in mere moments, the entire area, in an ever-expanding circle around the palace, was swarming with armed warriors with just one thought on their minds. Capture Youko Kurama. Had he been anywhere in the area, they would surely have done so. The majority of the treasure from the Storm King's vault was recovered from the house where Youko had lived for decades, but nothing else was found.

In the meantime, the Storm King and his youngest son were together, sitting in the garden. The boy was very upset by the letter, but, as he told his father, they had known it was going to happen and he and Holly would be reunited one day.

Even though they moved around a lot for the first few years, the red kitty somehow managed to keep finding Holly, Koko and Hiei. She showed up unexpectedly every so often and visited for a while. Since Jin stayed with his father until he started training with Touya and his Sect of Shinobi, the kitty would occasionally drop off notes for Holly. But only after traveling a bit herself so that she could not be backtracked to Holly. She apologized to Jin, but since his father was still occasionally ranting about the items that had never been recovered from Youko, he understood completely. He did, however, occasionally request that she take a note back.

Once Jin entered the top secret shinobi training camp, he was no longer able to communicate even sporadically with Holly. Even if he had been willing to give the kitty the location of the camp, she would never have dared go there. Not even a kitten could get in and out undetected. If she had been caught there, it would have been the end of her.

One time, after Youko went out on a quest for some knowledge, the kitty showed up and told Hiei and Koko that he might have gotten himself into trouble. Hiei went out looking for him and did not return. Eventually, Koko heard rumors that Kurama had been killed in Makai, possibly in the Nightmare Realm.

Youko had been aware that this was expected to happen at some point and had left specific instructions for what should be done. Hiei was to search the Human World for Suichi Minamino and Holly and Koko were to move one final time. Since Hiei was nowhere to be found, Koko moved herself and Holly and life continued. Koko hoped that Hiei would show up, but if he did not, she hoped he was following Kurama's instructions to find the Minamino boy.

Almost 20 years later, the red kitty suggested to Holly that she assemble a team and sign up to fight in the Dark Tournament. Since Holly was full grown and had been for a while, she went ahead and did so without letting Koko know what she was up to. Holly recruited her cousin Leona, her best friend Kiki, and a young female elf named Desdemona. She also listed Koko on the team application. Two days after she received the acceptance letter, she told Koko about the "sinister plot."

"What do you mean we are going to the Dark Tournament," Koko asked suspiciously. "Where did you get tickets?"

"Not as spectators, Koko!" Holly exclaimed excitedly, holding out a copy of the letter, "as participants. Me, you, Leona, Kiki and Desi are all entered as Team Holly."

"And whose bright idea was that, as if I didn't know?" She snarled after reading the letter.

"Well, mine, of course. I heard that there is a team of humans and demons being summoned as the 'Guest' team and that one of the members of that team is a demon named Hiei and another is a half-demon calling himself Kurama. I need to go see if it's our Hiei and my Daddy after all these years."

"And where did you get this intriguing bit of information?" Koko asked.

"The little red kitty told me I should go see the tournament because I would run into old friends there. There is also a Sect of Shinobi that is supposed to be competing and I might even see my Jin there." Holly hugged the letter to her chest and stared off into space for a moment before continuing. "There were no more tickets available and all the rooms were booked for the competing teams and people who already have tickets, so the only way we can get in is by participating. It's OK, isn't it Koko?" she asked wistfully.

Koko read the letter again and sighed. OK or not, now that they had been accepted there was no way to back out and survive. So they went to the Dark Tournament as Team Holly.

Koko did make some adjustments to their travel plans, however. Since it sounded like all the teams except the top few favorites were supposed to be traveling together to the island where the tournament was to be held, she delayed their departure so that they arrived on the dock just a few minutes after that particular boat had sailed. She then hired a local fisherman to ferry them out to the island. As they passed the larger boat and saw the mayhem taking place on the deck, the younger demonesses were forced to agree that she had made the right decision.

When they arrived at the island, it was to find that they were actually an extra team and that the committee had intended for them to be part of the "cannon fodder" on the larger boat to test Team Urameshi before they even got to the island. Since they had not, they were designated the "alternate team" and scheduled to appear against one of the winning teams when they were between matches to keep them in shape.

In other words, they were a filler to prevent Team Urameshi from getting too well rested between bouts.

They also found that there was a second "alternate team," also all female, although most of these appeared to be much younger. They might have been dismissed out of hand except that the leader of that team had already garnered a bit of a reputation by using the name "Demonsbane" and proving that she deserved it. With her there were a set of twin red-heads, apparently kitsune, a dark haired girl in a fringed leather dress and a half-human girl using the name Genkai Urameshi. The most interesting part of the team, however, was its alternate member...a red kitten.


	7. Chapter 7

After the first fights of the initial round were over and Team Urameshi was settled in to watch the competition, Holly and Koko strolled over to check them out. Leona went with them, since Hiei was her father and she hadn't seen him in several decades. Holly approached them first.

"Congratulations on your victories," she said. "After viewing that initial fight I had some concerns about your team's competency, but those were put to rest quite easily."

Kurama looked up from where he was sitting and did a double-take. Hiei just grunted. "Holly?" Kurama asked.

She grinned. "Yes, and from what that flowering idiot said, you are Suichi Minamino, although everyone here calls you Kurama. Is my father in there or are you just here as a tease?"

He stood up and still had to look up into her face. "I'm here just as that...creature said I would be. What are you doing here?" He glanced behind her. "Koko? Did you bring her here?"

"No, she brought me. We're one of the two alternate teams brought in to keep people in practice between bouts."

"Are you mad? You could be killed! You're supposed to be protecting her! What were you thinking?" Kurama's questions were directed to Koko, but Holly answered him.

"Don't be stupid, Dad. I haven't needed anyone to protect me in centuries. You would have known that if you had been around. Besides, she didn't even know I had signed us up until it was far too late. She did prevent us from coming over on the same boat as you guys. That looked pretty messy." Holly shuddered.

"It was. All the demons on the boat were killed except us." He might have said more, except that Yusuke chose that moment to notice the conversation and come over.

"Hey, Kurama. Who're your friends? I didn't think anybody here was willing to talk to you and Hiei without trying to rip your heads off."

"Ah...Yusuke. For the most part, you would be right, however these three are a bit of an exception to that. Allow me to introduce you to Kurama Hollyanna, Koko and Leona."

Yusuke's eyes bugged for a moment. "Kur-"

"Yes, Yusuke, this is Youko's daughter. And Leona there is Hiei's. Koko was supposed to be looking after Holly, but I guess she outgrew it since I was gone."

"Pleased to meet you," Yusuke managed to get out. Holly giggled and Koko shook his hand. Leona gave a familiar sounding grunt.

Just then, a small red feline went racing past with two youngish kitsune girls in pursuit. Kurama narrowed his eyes as he watched the feline speculatively. Looking back at Holly, he arched a brow in inquiry. Holly shrugged. "That was three members of the other alternate team," she said. "Two others look a lot like Uncle Hiei except that one has white hair and the other keeps hers tightly braided. The last is a half-demon calling herself Urameshi. I don't know where they came from, but they are an interesting bunch."

"And who else is on your team?" Kurama asked.

"I don't think I'm going to tell you. We are scheduled to have a 'demonstration' battle with your team tomorrow between the first and second rounds, since you were first to fight in the first round and are last in the second. Apparently the committee does not want you to get bored between fights. You can meet them then. Ta, Dad." Holly and her teammates ran off giggling, leaving Hiei, Kurama and Yusuke looking after them.

Meanwhile the red kitten was racing from team to team, searching for a familiar figure, scent or accent. She knew he was there. Knew he was with Uncle Touya. And absolutely knew he would want to know about the alternate team that was to give the demonstration fight with Team Urameshi just before the beginning of the Second round in the morning. The little red-heads behind her were more annoyance than cover and she knew if they caught her they would drag her back to Mercy and force her to stay with them.

Suddenly, from one of the training rooms, she heard two voices speaking and felt a wave of icy chill. She turned sharply and ducked through a small crowd and into the doorway. Skittering under a large robe that was hanging over a chair, she stilled, waiting for the searching girls to move on so she could speak with her target. She heard them whispering to each other as they searched.

"C'mon, Kara. She's not here and we have to get back to Mercy before she blows another demon up. I told you this was a bad idea. We don't even get to fight until the day between the third and final round. And we don't even know who we'll be going up against."

"Yes we do. And we can set things up with our dads ahead of time so nobody gets as badly hurt as it will appear," the second voice argued. The kitten curled herself into a tight ball to ensure that no trace of her fur or tail showed.

"Oy!" A male voice called. "What're ye two kids doin' here. This is a dangerous place. Gae back ta yer parents afore ye git in trouble."

There was a sound of small feet skittering away and then the fabric was lifted from the chair. "Ye ken come out now. They be gone."

The kitten looked up...and up to find a familiar face grown larger, although the horn nestled in the bright red hair and the long pointy ears remained the same. "Da!" She squealed, racing up his pants leg and then up the material strung across his chest to his shoulder. "Ah'm sae glad Ah found ye. Mum is here and her team is gunta face Grandfather and Uncle Hiei in the mornin'. Ye hafta be here with me ta watch and then ye hafta come see Mum afterwards!"

Jin smiled at the kitten on his shoulder. "Ah thought ye looked familiar. Yer the same kitty that introduced me ta me Holly when we were young'uns, aren't ye? But why are ye callin' me Da? And who's yer Mum that I hafta see in the mornin'?"

The kitten snorted. "Ah called ye Da because yer me faither and me Mum is yer true love, Kurama Hollyanna, Captain of Team Holly, ye big git."

Jin stilled. "Me Holly's here? Where? Ah want ta see her now."

"Well ye can't," the kitten stated. "If ye see her afore her battle with Team Urameshi, she'll be distracted 'n' git her arse kicked warse than she is already gunta."

"She's gunta get her arse kicked?" Jin asked in bewilderment. "By those humans and them human-lovin' backstabbers?"

"Be careful what ye say about them," the kitten advised, digging her claws into his shoulder. "They're na bad, na matter what ye've heard. They're jest tryin' to do a job that nobody asked if they wanted. Besides, one of 'em is me grandfaither and another is gunta be one of yer best friends when this is all over. Sae jest wait till ye meet em afore ye pass judgement."

"All right, all right. Dun't git yer fur in a bunch. Ah'll wait till Ah meet 'em ta decide." The kitten purred into his ear. "Sae, where shall we watch this fight from?"

"If it's all right with you, Da, Ah'd like ta stay with ye tanight and then we can watch the fight from the arena in the marnin'." The kitten peered around. "Ah dun't want them little red-headed witches ta catch up wit me afore then."

"And jest who are these witches," Jin asked, shrugging into his disguising robes that all of his sect wore except when they were fighting. The robes covered the kitten as well and allowed him to stroll past the searching twins without a second glance from them. She waited until they were well away before answering.

"They're Mum's younger half-sisters, though they actually havena been born yet. Me friends and me figgered we could come back in time and see what really happened here since we grew up on stories aboot it all ar lives. Seemed like a good idear until Mercy decided that since there are five of us we ought to register as a team and fight, too." The kitten snorted again. "Ah'll niver know what she was thinkin'. She actually wants to try ta take doon her faither and his friends, even if it means they all die here and none a them will git born."

"Ah dun't see that werkin'. After all, if they take doon ther faither and none a them gits born, how can they come back and take doon ther faithers an if they doon take doon ther faithers, they all get born, right?"

"Arrrggghhh! Dun't try ta make sense a it. Pleeaaassssee Da! Ah dun't understand a bit o it. Ah jest wanted ta come back here and see ye and Mum git tagether proper so's AH ken be born."

"Fair enough." Jin proceeded to his room and waited there until the next morning when the fight they both wanted to see would take place. The kitten went with him.


	8. Chapter 8

The following morning, they were among the few to show up for the fight. Since it did not really count toward the tournament (unless Team Urameshi lost, that is), not many people were interested. Holly and Yusuke agreed that it would be one on one fights the best three out of five to be the winner. Both teams held quick strategy sessions regarding matches and came up with surprisingly (or not considering there was a Kurama on either side) similar strategies.

Before he had a chance to realize that the entire opposite team was females which his honor code prohibited him from hitting, Kuwabara was sent into the ring as the first fighter from Team Urameshi. The rest of the team was a trifle dismayed when Team Holly practically forced a tiny little blond girl with big purple eyes and lavender skin up to oppose him. Kuwabara turned to protest to his team to find them lined up, arms crossed, glaring at him.

He turned back in time to see the girl facing a similar line-up of her teammates, although hers were actually holding weapons at the ready. He saw a long metal-tipped staff, a huge axe and two girls bouncing some type of energy balls on their hands. Obviously she was not getting out of this either. Both of them sighed and approached Koto at the center of the ring when summoned. She announced that the first fight was between Kiki Wakimaru and Kazuma Kuwabara and that they could begin. Neither one moved.

Kuwabara watched in horror as Kiki's large purple eyes filled with tears. "Please don't hurt me," she begged in a voice just above a whisper, obviously terrified. She tossed a frightened glance over her shoulder toward her teammates. "They made me come here so they could have five and said if I don't at least try to fight you, they will take me out later and beat me."

Hiei and Kurama, standing on the sidelines heard every word and agreed silently between themselves that this round was lost. Urameshi, on the other hand yelled at his friend.

"Never mind all that, just kick her ass so the rest of us can get this over with."

Kuwabara straightened his shoulders and glared at Urameshi. "It is against my Honor Code to fight with a girl." He turned to Koto, still waiting for the fight to begin. "I resign. She wins." Then he stalked from the ring and said to Kurama, "Your turn."

Kiki skipped back to her own side of the ring and hopped off. Her teammates congratulated her on a part well-played. Koto announced the win for Team Holly and called for the next two fighters, practically begging for there to be an actual fight with blood and gore this time.

Kurama and Desdemona stepped into the ring. Desdemona was wearing a long cape which covered her from shoulders to ankles. She carried a long staff tipped at both ends with metal. Once Koto announced that the fight was to begin, Desdemona whipped off her cape revealing a VERY skimpy outfit underneath that left nearly no detail of her magnificent physique to the imagination. At her movement, Kurama pulled a rose from his hair. Desdemona stepped a little closer, but before he could react, she plucked the rose from between his fingers.

"For me?" she asked coyly, sniffing at it delicately. "You shouldn't have."

Then she snapped her nearer foot into his groin with such force it curled him into a ball. She waved her hands over him and suddenly he was encased in a block of ice from the shoulders down. She slid him off the edge of the ring and that was the end of that fight.

"Och - Ah've seen men die from blows like that," Jin commented to the kitten.

"Well at least the ice will keep the swelling to a minimum," she quipped back.

Next up was Hiei. Opposing him was Koko, armed with a hairbrush. Hiei appeared a trifle taken aback by that sight, but, since his team had already lost twice, he had to win this one. As they approached Koto, Hiei noticed the two white sticks at either side of her mouth. Apparently she was charging her energies with sugar. He slowed his approach and then realized that it did not matter what she did. He had to win. It just wasn't going to be easy.

Koto announced that the fight could begin and both Hiei and Koko vanished. They kept vanishing and reappearing where the other one had just been for several minutes, moving too quickly for most of the spectators to follow. There was a sound of flesh striking flesh and then there was a crash into one of the surrounding walls outside the ring. A cloud of dust billowed out of the area, enshrouding the ring and the wall nearby.

When the dust cleared, Hiei stood at the edge of the ring, numerous bruises shaped suspiciously like the brush Koko entered the ring with covering his body and face. The brush itself dropped from his hands in several pieces. Hiei swayed, but remained upright as the dust cleared from around the impact point on the wall. No sign of Koko was visible until the dust finally finished clearing and it could be seen that she was firmly wedged into a body-shaped hole in the wall. As Koto counted and her teammates pried Koko from the wall, Hiei stumbled toward his own side of the ring. Once Koto announced his win, he allowed himself to drop into the waiting arms of Yusuke and the masked fighter.

Once Hiei was settled, the masked fighter leapt into the ring and Leona entered the other side. It looked to be a very uneven match. The short human of indeterminate origin and sex, apparently unarmed except with an impressive level of Spirit Energy against Leona, six and a half feet of excessively muscled female armed with an enormous axe, the blade of which was almost as wide as she was tall. Leona's demon energy was also fairly impressive, even if she generally kept it on a tight rein.

Koto declared the fighting begun and Leona's axe virtually flew off her shoulder where it had been resting, blade glowing with demon energy, straight through the tiny masked fighter. Who stepped back the two steps necessary to avoid the swing at a leisurely pace. The masked fighter took a strange stance, reminiscent of Urameshi's Spirit Gun and a blast of energy sprung forth and drove Leona into the wall behind her, coincidentally (or not) directly over the hole made by Koko's previous impact on the same wall. With the same result, just larger.

It took more time to pry her unconscious body from the wall and Koto had announced that the masked fighter had won and called for the last two fighters, Urameshi and Holly to come forward before they were done. Fortunately, this fight took longer than the other four combined. It was also much more visible to the spectators than Hiei's. Neither participant vanished completely from view and both were covered in blood, bruises and burns by the time they were done.

First, Yusuke started off with a standard physical attack, leading with his right. Holly avoided that by taking to the air and applying her right knee to Yusuke's chin on her way up, tossing the erstwhile Spirit Detective ass over teakettle across the ring, although he did not quite bounce out. She then dove in fists first to finish the job. Yusuke managed to get his feet under him in time to dodge and returned the knee with an elbow to the face, driving Holly back into the air where she hovered for a few minutes trying to get her vision working again.

Holly managed to clear her vision enough to make out her surroundings just in time to see a bright ball of energy streaking in her direction. She dodged gracefully to the side and snarled, "that's how you want to play?" just before sending a lightning ball streaking back. Yusuke managed to dodge at the last second, although his left arm was singed and then somehow, and no one was really sure later how it happened, leaped up and grabbed a hold of the lowest corner of one of Holly's wings, yanking her to the floor. From there things got ugly.

With her wing twisted and in Yusuke's grip, Holly was unable to fly and avoid the punishing blows he rained upon her. She managed to get in her fair share, but it was no contest. By the time Yusuke introduced her to the Leona-shaped hole in the wall, her wings were mangled and crumpled like an old piece of paper, both of her eyes had been blackened, her entire body was one huge bruise and several ribs had been fractured.

Not that Yusuke got away unscathed. One hand was thoroughly fried and he had to limp out of the ring because of a wicked kick to the inside of his knee that had resulted in a snap heard all the way to the top of the arena. Even hating him as they did, most demons gave a wince of sympathy for that. He was also bruised and barely conscious as he staggered off, but Koto still declared him, and therefore his team, winners.

Jin was horrified. "Didja see what he did ta me puir Holly?" he sputtered to the kitten. She sighed.

"Aye, Da. Ah did. Ye should gae doon ta the medical section at see her now."

"That I will, as soon as Oy've kilt me a human."

"Da, ye can't do that now. Ye have ta wait fer yer turn in the ring with him. But Dun't worry, ye'll have yer chance." Jin kept arguing all the way to the medical section even though he really wanted to see Holly and be sure she was all right. He started to turn back three times, but the kitty managed to talk him out of it.

They had just crossed the threshold of the medical section and Jin had just gotten his first close look at Holly in centuries when a pair of red-haired kitsune girls pounced on the red kitten. "Gotcha!" one of them called in triumph. Jin was too engrossed by his concern for Holly to be aware of what went on behind him and the girls got the kitten dragged out before she could call on him for help.

"I don't know where you-"

"Slept last night, but Mercy-"

"Is really pissed. Genkai got-"

"into it with that-"

"Bui guy from Team Togoro and left-

"him stuck head first in the floor and-"

"she had to go home because the rest of them-"

'were looking for her and now you-"

"have to help us tomorrow as the alternate."

The girls kept a running commentary going all the way back to their rooms, switching mid-sentence so that it all sounded like one long speech without any pauses. Her head was spinning from trying to follow the fast speech from one side to the other. Once she got to the hotel room, the situation was made clearer by Mercy.


	9. Chapter 9

The red kitten was informed that their friend Genkai Urameshi had been approached by Bui of Team Togoro and ordered to meet with the brothers. She had chosen to decline and started to walk away. The huge man had grabbed her by the head, intent on delivering her, willing or not. Genkai responded by grabbing the offending hand and using it as a lever to drive Bui head-first into the concrete of the floor to his shoulders.

Genkai then raced off and explained what had happened to her friends. They were discussing what should be done when there was a knock on the door of their suite. Mercy sent all the others into another room and answered. There was a tall and very slender man there with a black mask covering most of his face. He introduced himself as Karasu and explained that he had been sent by the Togoro brothers to request that Genkai Urameshi join them for tea later that evening.

Mercy told him that she would pass the invitation along as soon as she saw Genkai and closed the door in his face. She had glimpsed a pair of shadows lurking in the hallway behind him and decided that it was time for Genkai to go home before things got any more messed up than they were. Since there was only one place where they could safely travel to their own time, It was decided that Genkai needed to go immediately. Mercy used her Jagan to check the hallway and found that it was under observation to prevent any escape.

There was no one watching the window or that side of the building, so the twins made a ladder of ivy for themselves and Genkai to climb down and they headed for the transfer point. Raven went with them to keep watch with her Jagan. Mercy stayed in the room to keep the watchers distracted.

There were no real problems until they got almost to their destination. Then they unexpectedly met up with Hiei and Kurama. Both had been attracted by the use of powers so similar to their own. Hiei quickly had the explanation out of them and passed it on to Kurama. They escorted the girls to the transfer point and then went with Raven and the twins back to the hotel.

Before they separated, a battle strategy for the next time they met had been discussed and agreed on. Then the girls climbed back to their own rooms. When they were visited later that evening by Team Togoro, they were all honestly able to say that they did not know where Genkai was.

"I don't like the plan," Mercy said, finishing up, "but without Genkai, I suppose we have to settle for nobody getting hurt."

It was actually two days later before the "demonstration" battle between Team Urameshi and Team Mercy took place. It was pretty much a disappointment to everyone watching and hoping to see the humans taken down by the girls. First of all it was announced that they had lost a member and their alternate, a kitten, would be filling in. Secondly, it was decided that this would be a team on team exercise and the last team with a person in the ring would be the winners.

The two teams lined up on opposite sides of Koto and waited. When the call to begin was announced, both teams sprang into action. Mercy and Raven engaged Hiei and Kurama. Sword and tomahawk versus sword and rose whip. Given that the girls were extremely fast, it was a fairly even battle. One of the little kitsune girls faced off against the Masked fighter and the other headed toward Yusuke. The kitten walked over and started rubbing against Kuwabara's leg until he picked her up.

The Masked Fighter managed to keep out of the clutches of the kitsune facing her, but Yusuke was not so lucky. A strand of vine wrapped around his wrist as he tried to block an attack and with a shout of "Ambush" Yusuke was wrapped from knees to shoulders in vine and dropped to the floor as his skin was pierced by numerous thorns. Hiei and his white-haired opponent were busy vanishing and reappearing and not being able to score a hit on each other. Kurama managed to dodge the glowing tomahawk, but was likewise not able to score a solid hit on his opponent.

Yusuke managed a strangled squeak as he went down that finally snapped Kuwabara's attention from the kitten in his arms to the ongoing battle just as the kitsune rolled his unconscious friend out of the ring. "Hey there-" was as far as he got before the kitten turned into a shapely teenage girl who slapped a liplock on him, stunning him long enough for the other kitsune to shout "Ambush" before she pushed him into the large clump of thorny bushes and let the twin put him out as well.

Meanwhile, the kitsune who took out Yusuke slipped up behind Kurama and dropped him as well. Raven then turned to join her sister Mercy in attacking Hiei. He saw the attack coming and managed to avoid both girls, but in the process backed into a nest of vines and thorns that wrapped him up and he was unceremoniously rolled out of the ring. That left only the Masked Fighter in the ring with four girls and a kitten. The crowd went wild with delight.

The Masked fighter retreated to the edge of the ring as the girls advanced on her in an arc. They were spread out to make it harder for her to attack any of them without leaving herself open to attack by the others. The fighter took an odd stance with her right foot back and her hands against her chest as if they were holding a ball. Suddenly, her hands shot out and a blast of power struck all five of her opponents, hurling them from the ring and into the stone walls. They dropped to the ground and did not move for long enough for Koto to declare Team Urameshi the winners.

By the time Team Mercy began recovering consciousness, the next round had started and they were forgotten. They limped out of the arena and back to the hotel. Once there, they quickly collected whatever they wanted to take home with them and checked out. Then they headed to the transfer point. Again, just out of sight of the hotel, their fathers "accidentally" met them.

"Heading home, I see," sneered Hiei as he stepped out from behind a tree into their path. Mercy drew her sword and stepped in front of the others. She nodded briefly to him, but did not relax her battle-ready stance. Her eyes searched the surrounding forest until Kurama stepped out from another tree at Hiei's side. Actually, she didn't relax it then, she just shifted it to include both of them instead of just her own father. Raven stepped up and set a hand on her sister's shoulder.

"Indeed. We have seen and done what we came here for." Raven pressed her sister's wrist until she grunted and sheathed the sword with a final doubtful look at the two older demons. Mercy did not go so far as to remove her hand from the hilt, but as long as the sword was sheathed, Raven was satisfied. She did not seem terribly trusting of these earlier versions of their fathers, either. The red kitten cowered behind the two kitsune girls, each of whom had a small bunch of seeds in her hand. "Please let us pass. We need to be gone before the Togoros finish their current opponents and come looking for us again."

"We did not come to delay you," Kurama said, "We are here to escort you since-" The sound of the crowd going wild echoed out of the arena "-it sounds like the Togoros are done."

The girls exchanged alarmed looks and the group began to move rather quickly toward the transfer point without further discussion. Once they arrived, however, Kurama snatched up the kitten, preventing her from joining her cohorts.

"Eep – mew dammit! Lemme go ye big bully."

"You and I are owed a long and…pointed…discussion, granddaughter."

"Right ye air, grandfaither, boot raight noo Ah need ta git meself and me friends back hame. Ah'll be happy ta talk ta ye later."

"I'm sorry to disappoint you, Kurama-sama, but she IS the only one who can open the portal back to our own time and we have been followed and NEED to go NOW." Raven waved vaguely back toward the forest and nodded to Hiei for verification.

Hiei stared onto space for a moment. "She's right, Kurama. There are hunters after them…and a set after us as well. Let the cat go for now. We know we'll see her again. Right now they need to get home and we need to flatten the pests after us."

Kurama eyed the kitten speculatively before he released his grip on the scruff of her neck and dropped her. She fled over to her friends and the five of them vanished with a small pop.


	10. Chapter 10

They dealt with the two members of their next opponent's team and, after rescuing the hostage they held and curing his poisoning, they returned to the arena and won their next round. Kurama did not have a chance to consider the reason behind the return of the red kitten until he met the shinobi sect his team opposed the next day.

After Holly recovered from her injuries, at least enough to be ambulatory, she watched from the sidelines as Touya lost to her father and then Jin got beaten into unconsciousness by Urameshi. She was a bit put out by the lack of sympathy this garnered from her parent. In point of fact, she would have taken a few friends and made short work of the uppity human trash, but both her beloved and her father forbade it.

She might have ignored those injunctions, but she was still too weak to prevent her team mates from packing her onto the next boat back to the mainland. Under orders of both the men in her life. Koko made sure there was a complete exchange of contact information before they left. There would be no more unnecessary separations. Holly would watch the remainder of the Tournament on Pay-Per-View from home while she completed her recovery from her own trouncing. By the time it was done, she was glad she had left when she did.

Jin, Chu, Touya, Rinku along with Team Urameshi and all their assorted connections were on the final boat that returned to the mainland. For the most part they were all just glad to have escaped with their lives. There were a few serious discussions, however. Since there was no way that Holly and Jin were going to allow themselves to be separated again, Kurama felt it incumbent upon himself to have a little chat with his prospective Son-in-Law. Actually, he decided to have The Talk with Jin.

It started innocently enough. Kurama asked Jin for a moment of his time to discuss "family business" privately, since he was about to join the family. Jin was not old enough to remember what the family business was, but Touya mentioned that Kurama's reputation was not exactly sterling and that he had, in fact cleaned out their father's vault when last he decamped with Holly. Their father would still like to have a few words with him about that, although most of his treasures had since been recovered. Jin tried to keep an open mind, but Touya's accusations stayed with him.

Following Kurama into an empty stateroom, the Wind Master peered around himself nervously. "Jest what did ye be wantin' ta talk aboot?"

Kurama turned and poured them each a glass of sake. They sat down on opposite sides of the table and each tossed the sake down. Kurama refilled the cups before starting. "I asked you here today to try to get to know you better before I give my daughter to you."

Both of them tossed the sake back and they poured some more. It wound up being a very long discussion, taking most of the night and consuming more sake than was wise for either of them. It culminated in a pre-dawn lap of the ship at an altitude exceeded only by their level of drunkenness. By the time the ship docked, both Kurama and Jin were mostly comatose and looking forward to a few days of recuperation at the tender hands of their respective sympathetic families.

Jin was bundled off the ship by Touya through the simple expedient of an ice slide. By the time they arrived at their fathers' home, Jin had sobered up enough to understand that, while Holly would be warmly greeted by his sire, she might have a hard time taking her leave of him. So Jin did not mention that he knew where to find her and, as soon as he was sufficiently recovered to make the journey, he slipped away to her home in the Human World.

Kurama was carried between Hiei and Yusuke and delivered to his human mother with many apologies. She muttered something about boys being boys and got him settled into bed and cleaned up. Kurama was grateful for her restraint, but the next morning, on her way to work, she happened to mention his ill-advised foray into the world of alcohol to her neighbor. Said neighbor then mentioned it to her daughter, Alanna, who had been almost an institution in the Minamino household since she and "Suichi" had met in preschool.

While Alanna was a rising star in the world of music as the latest soprano diva of the opera, she still was concerned about her best friend and raced over to see if there were anything she could do to aid his recover. Or just harass him. It was that sort of friendship.

His only indication of the impending doom about to drop upon him was the quiet sound of his name being called in a soft female voice.

"Suiiiiichi. Time to get up, sleepy head."

He muttered something to the effect of begging a few more moments of rest. The voice persisted, becoming a little louder.

"Come on, you can do it. You need to get up so we can go shopping."

That was enough of an unusual thing to catch a bit more of his foggy brain. Shopping? He wasn't going shopping. He muttered again something to that effect with a few mild epithets included. He heard his tormentor move away and heard a small clinking.

"Wakey wakey silly head or your orange juice will be in your bed."

He was going to grumble and ignore the voice again, but suddenly, there was a VERY cold glass slid into the gap between his neck and shoulder and he realized that the voice he had been hearing was not his mother, but that of his best frienemy, Alanna. Moving very carefully, he took hold of the glass and rolled over enough to glare at her.

The bright sunlight shining in the window felt like a dagger through his eyes and into his brain. His mouth tasted like an assortment of furry creatures had alternately defecated and/or died in it. His stomach chose to make its extreme displeasure at his movement know by threatening to cast forth its contents that did not promise to be any more appetizing than the current interior of his mouth. Possibly worse, if such a thing were possible. He considered, briefly, allowing his body to lapse back into unconsciousness and looked over at his tormentor.

Alanna smiled at him over the top of a glass of ice water with several cubes floating perilously close to the edge. "Don't even think it, buddy boy." She waved a heavy cream-colored envelope in his direction. "You have been invited to a wedding tomorrow and it's too late to back out. We need to get you down to Gildean for your suit."

"Wedding? What wedding," he asked stumbling from the bed to the bathroom at the urging of his suddenly insistent bladder. He managed to get there sufficiently far in advance of Alanna to get the door closed and locked before she joined him, but it did not stop her from reading through the door.

"You are hereby invited to the joining of Kurama Hollyanna, daughter of Youko Kurama and the Storm King's son, Jin the Wind Master. Sounds like some silly LARP kids, if you ask me."

"Which I didn't," he muttered as he tried to defuzz his mouth with water and his toothbrush. His stomach made threatening lurches when he thought about actually using toothpaste.

"Hey, isn't this Youko Kurama guy using the same name you said that monster that lived inside you had?"

"Sounds like it," He gave up and opened the door. She handed him a cup of coffee that he gratefully took a huge swallow of before he realized it contained far more sugar and cream than his tender internal organs could cope with. It was a good thing all he had to do was shove the cup into her hands and turn around because that was all he had time for before the contents of his stomach reappeared.

"Eeewwww," Alanna shrugged. "It's your own fault. Your Mom told my mom that you were so trashed when your friends brought you back the day before yesterday that they had to drag you upstairs and practically roll you into bed."

"The day before…What day is this?"

"Saturday, the day before the wedding, obviously. Don't you ever listen to me, Suichi?"

"Not if I can help it," he muttered, breaking down and using the toothpaste this time. Anything had to be an improvement. He looked down at himself. He was still wearing the clothes he had left the island in. The disgusting smell he was experiencing seemed to be emanating from them and his senses rebelled again. He stripped them off and threw them in the hamper.

"If you are going to stick around until I am relatively human, please do me a favor and get me some clean clothes from my room," he called through the door as he turned the water on in the shower. He grabbed his soap and shampoo and climbed in to steam away the rest of his nausea. "And please bring me a cup of coffee, black. Or better yet, some tea, plain with NOTHING added."

He did not hear the reply as he was busy soaking and then soaping his hair, but the tone was unmistakable. Alanna was annoyed with him. Only fair, he was none too happy with her right now. As he scrubbed, he heard her come into the bathroom and, through the translucent shower curtain, saw her set his clean clothes on the rack by the towels. She leaned around the end of the shower curtain with a cup.

"Your tea, Oh Cranky One," she quipped, glancing down at his derriere. "Cute butt."

He grunted as he took the cup from her and drained it in two swallows. Fortunately, it was hot but not too hot. He handed her back the cup and she slipped back to her own side of the shower curtain and stopped ogling him.

"So, where were you?" she asked from her seat on the toilet. "Your mother said you were gone for over a week and she had no word from you at all. She was starting to worry when they boys brought you back."

"I was at a tournament. I couldn't tell her where I was going or how long I would be because I wasn't sure. Besides, I couldn't tell her I was going to fight. She would never have stopped worrying then."

"Oh, that's a handy excuse. And you couldn't let your best friend who loves to fight know either?"

"You were on Tour. Not expected back until yesterday. Besides, this was a Dark Tournament, lots of demons involved."

"Oh God! You went to a LARP tournament and got your ass handed to you without me there to help, didn't you?"

"No, my team won. Granted, I did lose my match in the finals to a dead man, but the team still won. I suppose I will never live that one down." He was rinsing his hair and face and missed her answer to that. Which was probably just as well. What little he caught between the shower and the scrubbing did not sound complimentary.

"You said the wedding is tomorrow?" he asked as he finished washing and turned the water off. He reached out for a towel and she handed it to him.

"Yeah. Tomorrow at noon is the ceremony and then there is a reception at some fancy schmancy hotel downtown."

"I'm surprised they could organize it so quickly. Both the bride and the groom were at the tournament. The bride left early when her team was eliminated, but the groom came back with us. In fact, it was celebrating the engagement that got me in the condition I was when I arrived home."

He wrapped a second towel around his hair, since wet and loose, it hung past the middle of his back. He wrapped the first towel around his waist and stepped out of the shower. Alanna handed him a second cup of tea.

"I don't know about that," she said, "but the invitation was in this morning's mail. Says you need a date, too. Where are you going to get somebody on such short notice?"

He considered for a few minutes while he combed the assorted products through his hair and tied it back into its usual tail. Once his hair was neat, he looked consideringly at Alanna while he started to dress.


	11. Chapter 11

"Oh no." she protested, "get that look off your face. I am not going with you to a LARP wedding two days after I got back from the most horrible tour I have ever had. Besides, I do not want to be involved with anyone who would get you so stinking drunk that you were passed out for two days."

"Actually, it was probably closer to three days that I was out, but what is this about you having your worst tour?" Suichi's face was full of concern as it slid free of the shirt he pulled over his head. "What happened?"

"Nothing new. The actual concerts were great." Alanna grinned and then shrugged. "Music is my life. It was the other stuff. You know, all the usual pre-concert stuff, the post-concert stuff, the after-party and then the day or two on the bus going to the next concert site and listening to all the lectures from my mother about all the things I shouldn't be doing. 'Alanna, you aren't old enough to get a tattoo. Alanna, you aren't old enough to drink. Alanna, you aren't old enough to smoke. Especially that. Alanna you aren't old enough to let the tenor take you into the closet after your final show in a fit of excitement and let him have his wicked way with you. Alanna, you aren't old enough to go to the red light district in Amsterdam to check it out.' You know, the usual." She grinned again.

"The Amsterdam red-light district?"

"Oh yeah! It was really cool. Mom nearly tossed a gasket when she found out Udolpho took me around and let me check stuff out and talk to the people and stuff. I did try a few of the local delicacies. Did you know that everything is legal in Amsterdam?"

"Yes, I was aware. From there you went to Singapore?"

"How did you…?"

"Recall, I knew your concert schedule as well as you did. Plus, that is the only place you could have gotten a tattoo with such pungent vegetable inks three days ago." He stared at her face as he asked, "Does your mother know about this, young lady?"

To her everlasting horror, Alanna blushed a deep scarlet under her make-up. "How…?"

"I see. She doesn't. So she doesn't realize that those inks take nearly a week to set to permanency and that the tattoo can still be removed without permanently disfiguring your back for two more days." Suichi smiled diabolically at her. "I shall have to mention it to her when next I see her. Perhaps before I go to the wedding. Since I will still be looking for a date."

Alanna stared at him in horror. He was completely serious and would so totally rat her out. She had known him for most of their lives and when he made That Face, he was going to be utterly ruthless and do exactly what he said. No one had ever opposed That Face and succeeded. Suichi did not use it often, but when he did, those resisting fell.

She considered her options. She could stay with Suichi, even overnight. They'd done similar things before. And she would go with him to Gildean's to pick up the clothes. And then she would have to decide between dumping him there and hiding out for 2 days after he called her mother looking for her and expressed his gratitude for her very liberal opinion of the new tattoo and her generosity in allowing her to retain it while it was totally removable for another day or two even if it does make Alanna look "fast" and immoral. That's just what he'd do because he knew just which words to use. They all knew each other too well. She felt the trap closing.

While she considered, they walked a few blocks to a small tailor shop. Suichi caught a whiff of a faintly familiar scent as Alanna pushed the door wide and yanked him in before slamming it shut behind them. "Yo! Gildy! I have a special rush case for you!"

This greeting was answered, not by a person, but by a baseball-sized pincushion flying toward his head. Suichi snatched it from the air mere inches from his face. "Go away, Alanna," came a voice from behind a tall partition. "I'm up to my earth in Rush orderth for a wedding tomorrow and I don't have time for your thilly friendth."

"But Gildean, It's the boy you said you would pay to dress properly the other day when you saw him on the television show. And he has to go to a wedding tomorrow too, and if you don't help him, he will wear the yellow dress again."

"Of courthe the boy in the yellow dreth has to go to the wedding he would be the-" The slightly distracted voice came to a stop and a head popped out from behind the partition, not unlike a gopher from a hole. The head had spiky green hair and multiple piercings. As the eyes caught sight of Kurama, the became impossibly wide and a strange, high pitched squeal issued forth from his lips.

The head moved to the side of the partition where it was joined by the body which was tall, slender and decidedly male. And yet the movements and the very attitude seemed decidedly female. The spiky hair disguised the points on the ears and nothing else was immediately visible on the tailor to indicate a lack of humanity, Kurama recognized him at once. Although the last time Kurama saw him, he had long, curly black hair.

"Nice to see you, too, Gildean," he said, holding up a hand as the tailor rushed toward him. "Alanna said you could help me get ready for tomorrow. I would also like to get something for her as she will be accompanying me."

"I have not agreed to that, Suichi Minamino, and I am still not sure I will go with you. I don't know how you found out about the tattoo, but when I find out, somebody is soooo going to pay."

"You'll go. And I told you, I smelled the inks."

"Exthcuthe me, but are you talking about the tattoo Alanna got in Thingapore?" Gildean interrupted the conversation. "Can't you pretty much wipe it off ath if it never exithted? In under a minute?"

"Yes, but Alanna wants to keep the tattoo until the inks are set and if her mother were to find out about it while it is still removable by mortal means, she would do so at once." Suichi smiled at the tailor. "Alanna does not want to go to the wedding with me, but I do not have another female who I could take. In case you haven't noticed she can be very blind in some areas."

Gildean considered and then nodded. "Tho tomorrow you are going to which wedding?"

Alanna waved the invitation in his face. "This one. Apparently it is being put on by the same people who put up that Dark Tournament show you enjoyed. At least some of the names are staying the same. I guess if you're gonna LARP, you may as well do it in front of a camera for money. I still think it's silly."

"Be that ath it may, I will need to measure our mutual friend here and I will give conthideration to the betht thing for you to wear. Firtht, though, I need to thee the new tattoo." Alanna looked at the tailor in anguish a moment and then turned her back and pulled her shirt off and the top of her pants down to display the entire thing. Both Gildean and Suichi were impressed with the artwork and with the hours of agony Alanna had been subject to, both during the creation and since then by wearing normal clothes over it as camouflage while trying to keep it moist and fresh with the oil she had to rub in several times a day.

Alanna's back needed a new coat of oil, so Suichi did it for her and then Gildean sent her out for accessories, a pair of Black shoes for Suichi and a pair of burgundy shoes and a matching purse for herself.

"Tho. You weren't at all thurprithed to thee me. Why ith that?" Gildean dragged him into a back room and started pulling his outer clothes off.

"Why should I be surprised? Alanna said she was taking me to see Gildean, the tailor for the stars of Youkai Records, owned and operated by her boss, Mr. Sesshoumaru. Who else could it possibly be?" Standing there with his arms held out from his sides, wearing nothing more than the briefs Alanna had grabbed from his dresser while Gildean measured all the appropriate (and possibly a few inappropriate) parts, Kurama seemed completely at ease. Right up until Gildean pinched his butt.

Kurama turned a stern glare at Gildean. He ducked his head to hide the mischievous grin and muttered, "thorry."

"You have to know he is lying," came a voice behind Gildean. Gildean jumped and almost swallowed the pins he was holding in his mouth.

"Yes, Hiei, but we are going to let it pass this time since he dare not do such a thing while he measures Youko for his suit."

"You know you shouldn't thneak up on people, shortcake."

"Hn. I didn't sneak. I thought you knew I was here and were just ignoring me while you got this half of Kurama measured for the suit."

"Well you thought wrong. Do you have thith magical elikther to change him to Youko or are you jutht here to annoy my fashion thentheth with that monotonouth monochrome look of yourth?"

"Neither. Koko is insisting I accompany her and that you will dress me for it. Apparently I am to be part of the wedding party."

"Actually, I have the elixir. It takes a few minutes to work and then the effects last about ten to twelve minutes. If you are almost ready for the second measurements, I can take it now." Kurama held up a small flask. At Gildean's nod, he screwed the top off and drank a few sips of the contents. Gildean giggled. "What?"

"You had better not let Alanna thee you do that tomorrow. She'll want to thample whatever you are drinking."

"I had not considered that. Can you get me two matching flasks for tomorrow? I will put the potion into one and something suitably toxic into the other. That way if she tries to drink it, it will not disagree with her."

"That might work. Jutht don't mix them up. After all, having you thtroll down the aisle in a drunken thtupor with Holly might be amuthing, but do you even know what that thtuff will do to a human?"

"Hn. It might be almost worthwhile to see it."

"Hiei, what a terrible thing to say!"

Gildean chuckled as he finished up Kurama's Suichi measurements. Then he started on Hiei's measurements while they waited for Youko's arrival. Knowing that his time was short, Gildean took Youko's measurements in a very short time and promised that the suit would be ready at the wedding site when Youko needed it to be there.

The potion wore off at that point and Kurama and Gildean continued their conversation without missing a beat as Gildean finished measuring Hiei and they waited for Alanna to return. As they waited, Gildean snatched a length of a silky and very fine burgundy and cream striped material from his stores in the back of the shop and started sewing. He didn't even measure. He just cut and sewed.

After a few minutes, he sighed and scurried back to the racks for some virtually transparent scarves in matching colors. Again, seemingly casually, he snatched them in equal proportion and started sewing them, seemingly in random, onto what could only be described as the "base" of the dress. Then he sewed a layer of alternating black and burgundy scarves atop the burgundy and cream, giving the illusion of decorum with occasional flashes of near-nakedness as the layers slid together and apart. Then came cream and royal blue. The flashes were rarer, but appeared clearer. Then sky blue and rose. Visions of beautiful legs leading up to a shadowy paradise chased itself across the skirt.

Gildean nodded to himself as he drew a long section of the virtually transparent cream silk gause around the entire affair and up to meet as a flat knot at the base of a very long and graceful fall of a pair of twined scarves, one to either hip, just above the end of the bow. They started down her back from her shoulders. They were joined to the back edges of the bodice just below the chest-line, leaving the entire back bare.

The front of said bodice appeared to be a scarf coming down from each shoulder and meeting with the shoulder straps on the outside. There was a deep scooped neck on the front that appeared to be yet another nearly transparent scarf swept across the lowest point of the bosom without exposing the nipples. Or so it appeared to the fascinated watchers as the gown took shape.

By the time Alanna finally got back with the shoes, the gown was draped on a mannequin as it was meant to be worn and set in front of the 3-way mirror with a fan blowing gently. The illusion of a shapely and yet nearly naked girl whispered across the dress at intervals. Nothing actually inappropriate, but there always seemed the possibility of more. Hiei took his leave and Kurama and Gildean were having tea and chatting when she breezed in.

"So, you boys done already? It usually takes his highness this long just to get my measurements." Alanna tossed Gildean the bag with 2 pairs of shoes and a purse in it. "This what you wanted?"

Gildean pulled a pair of heeled boots, nearly combat boots, that laced up in the front and the back to half way up the thigh. He pulled out the black laces and gave Alanna the boots and some strands of cream colored lace. "Uthe thith inthtead," he said, shoving her back toward the dressing room. "Try on the frock in there and let me know what you think."

Alanna looked at him in confusion for a second and then went warily into the dressing room. Gildean listened carefully as Alanna walked into the room, stopped, and then walked slowly around the gown. He heard her sigh and then he heard the sound of clothing being practically ripped off and flung to the floor. Then she sat down and used the lace to lace up her boots. He heard her twirl in front of the mirror and then she skipped out. Kurama's jaw dropped.

The dress had looked ghostly and mysterious on the mannequin. On Alanna, it looked like a peek-a-boo peeping tom's dream. The boots added to the illusion that the dress showed what was below all the layers. Alanna spun in front of them and apparently gave them an almost complete view of her charms. Or so it appeared. Kurama nearly swallowed his tongue. Alanna took one look at his face and laughed.

"I see you have perfected the naked dress you said you would make me." Alanna swung in front of the mirror and grinned back at Gildean.

"Yeth, well your mother thaid you could not have it for your thtage act until you were 18. Your mother will not thee thith on you until that time, do you underthtand me, Mith?" Gildean looked at her firmly. "If there ith any fall-out from thith, you will never thee another dreth of it'th like before you are over 21."

Alanna looked down and nodded. "Yes. Gildean," she said sincerely. He would do it, too. He had this annoying thing about supporting a parent's right to make decisions for a child. Fortunately for her, his concept of when those controls should be loosened because the child is no longer a child was a great deal more liberal than her parents. He said it was because when he was alive it was normal for a girl her age to be married, sometimes with a child, and running a huge household.


	12. Chapter 12

Gildean nodded. "Good. Now, you two go home and get thome retht. Be back here at eight thyarp." Gildean practically shoved them out the door as soon as Alanna changed back into her street clothes. He hung the dress back on the mannequin and started sewing. Alanna dragged Suichi to the mall to shop for jewelry to wear with her new dress. They had dinner at the food court and then went to Suichi's house.

Alanna called her mother and let her know she was staying over to help Suichi get ready for the wedding. And yes, she was probably going with him. And yes, Gildean was making her a special dress for the occasion, since it was a kind of costume thing. And yes, she would have pictures taken when she had the dress on. And no, of course she wasn't going to drink more than the required single glass of champagne required for the toasts. (Not that there was any danger of that. Alanna hated champagne. She'd rather have some good scotch.) And yes, they would try to not stay too late at the reception. And yes, she would probably sleep over at Suichi's tomorrow night as well rather than disturb both households when they got in.

Then they went up and got Alanna settled in the guest room. Since she was a regular visitor, it took no time at all. Then they had tea and went to bed.

The next morning, they were up, showered and out the door in plenty of time to stop for coffee, tea and a chai latte for themselves and Gildean. They also picked up some fresh bean paste buns and meat buns for breakfast. They walked through the door just as the clock chimed eight. Gildean took the chai latte gratefully ("Thank you darlingth. You are lifethaverth.") and they went to the back of the shop, where there were literally dozens of matching dresses and suits waiting.

A few minutes later, Hiei arrived and asked for his suit and the dresses for the Bride's house. He spoke briefly to Kurama while he waited for Gildean to find the proper items and then almost literally vanished out the door. Alanna, meanwhile was strolling among the suits, admiring the cut of the pants. She reached out and tested the fabric with her hands. There was no give at all. She looked a little more closely at the pants and her eyes widened as she took in the obviously muscular cut of the thighs and the backside. The accompanying jacket and shirt showed the same appealing package as the pants. Maybe there was a reason to start going with Suichi to these LARP things.

"Handth off, honey," Gildean chuckled and pulled out a different suit, trading it for the one in front of her. "That one'th the groom, but here'th the betht man. He'th a little cold, but lookth like he might be worth the effort to warm up. Bethideth, he'th thingle and unattached." He bustled off and left Alanna contemplating the best man's apparent endowments.

There was one suit set off to one side. It was white with touches of gold and the shape of it caught Alanna by surprise. She didn't know who was going to wear that incredible creation, but she definitely wanted to. "Gildean, whose is that?" she asked as he scurried by, collecting clothing pieces.

"That ith for the father of the bride. And why aren't you drethed and ready? We are leaving in fifteen minuteth, Mithy and you need to be in the limo by then." Gildean continued on and Alanna dove into the dressing room to change.

Seated in the limo as it pulled out, fourteen minutes later, Alanna had a closer look at the white and gold suit. Too bad it was for some old guy. After all, if this Holly girl was their age or a little older, how old did her father have to be? While in contemplation of how somebody at least as old as her father could ever wear such a hot suit, she almost missed the hand-off of the flask from Gildean to Suichi. Suichi tucked it into his jacket neatly, but Alanna did see it. Then she saw the bottle Gildean had tucked into the corner. Prime 50-year-old scotch.

Alanna scooped the bottle out of the corner and took several large swallows before Gildean managed to snatch it back. She glared at him a few seconds and then he sighed and filled a second flask with the scotch and handed it to her. Alanna slid the flask into her purse. There was only a few sips left in the bottle by that time. Neither of the others said anything as she drained it, although they did exchange a look of relief. Now they did not need to be concerned about her seeing anything she shouldn't. Alanna being Alanna, they could count on her to wipe out anything stranger than usual that she saw.

By the time they arrived at the wedding site, Alanna was feeling no pain. She didn't even object when Gildean took them on a tour of the dressing area and showed them where he was leaving the white suit and which room should be changed in. Then he led them to their seats on the Bride's Side. Suichi looked at his watch and pulled out a flask and drained it. Gildean led the way to the center and sat down. Alanna was next and Suichi was on her other side. He was a little paler than usual and looked funny.

"Suichi, if you aren't able to chug your liquor without becoming ill, at least go throw up before the bride gets here. Did you drain the flask? Good. You can go get us both refills," she said in response to his slightly strangled nod. A man with a huge blue Mohawk turned around and took in both Alanna's and Suichi's condition. He pulled a flask clearly marked by a skull and crossbones and handed it to Kurama.

"Give that to the sheila with tha vanishin' dress, mate," he drawled, with a heavy Australian accent. "An then you git yerself out the back before ya make a spectacle of yerself that ye don't want ta."

Kurama opened the flask and took a small sniff. "Ogre Killer?"

"T'won't kill her, but she'll sleep well tonight."

"Gimme that." Alanna snatched the flask from Kurama's slack grasp as he considered the concept and took a careless slug. Her eyes widened and she inhaled deeply through her nose. She held the breath a moment and then closed her eyes and shuddered as she released the breath. All three men were watching her closely. She licked her lips ans opened her eyes. "My my my. And to think I almost didn't come along today. I am Alanna and you have just made my day. Tell me your name and what you call this elixir from heaven."

Gildean was in the middle of a relieved sip of his own flask when he heard her last few words and it was fortunate that he was holding a handkerchief between his face and the rest of the room, because it was soaked in blood as the words were released. Gildean smothered the next few coughs with a clean handkerchief as he tried to clean his face of blood. The entire time, he watched Alanna look the fellow up and down. He returned the favor with a slight blush on each cheekbone.

"Oi'm Chu, Miss Alanna, ma'am. 'N' that there is called Ogre Killer. Most folks can't drink the stuff, but you look to be doin' OK."

"Well, Chu, I am. Let's meet after the reception and we can discuss the finer points of the most magnificent beverage it has ever been my pleasure to sample." Alanna was busy chatting with Chu and Kurama slipped out the back. The organist began the warm-up and warning music to signal that it was time to sit down and shut up. Gildean led Alanna back to her seat. He was nervously trying to get another sip from his flask when the music changed and the groom and his groomsmen, accompanied by the bride's maids of honor, came down the aisle and stopped at intervals until the last one to go forward and face the podium at the end of the room was the groom.

Alanna was examining the best man's … assets when the music changed yet again. In the doorway at the end of the aisle, stood the bride and Gildean's white suit. There appeared to be a glowing, white light behind them. Then as they came into the room, it became apparent that the glow emanated from the shining white fabric itself. As they walked up the aisle, Alanna got an eyeful of the Father of the Bride.

She leaned over to Gildean and whispered, "Oh. My. God. I would so totally tap that."

Gildean's handkerchief was again drenched in blood and he gasped for a moment staring at Alanna in astonishment. Then something clicked in his eyes and he started laughing. He went through three more handkerchiefs before the end of the ceremony. Suichi arrived shortly after the Father of the Bride handed his daughter off to the groom and left.

"Suichi, I am totally in lust." Alanna gushed. He looked at her in shock and then at Gildean who appeared to be trying to smother his laughter. "Did you see him? I have never seen a more luscious body, although Gildean's suit helped, but still, you have to be in shape for the clothes to help. Anyway, I want somebody to introduce me and then I will totally tap that."

Suichi looked at Gildean, an uncomfortable suspicion rising in his mind. "Gildean, do you know what she is talking about?"

"Ath a matter of fact I do. Our young friend Alanna here hath been overtaken with lutht for the Father of the Bride, Youko Kurama and would pay for an introducthion for the purpose of a thexual encounter with thame."

"That could be awkward," Kurama mused.

"Indeed, but pray keep in mind she ith well lubricated with thcotch and Ogre Killer."

"True, and he probably would enjoy the encounter as well."

Alanna listened trying to take all this in, and then interrupted. "Wait a minute. Do you two mean to tell me you can arrange a meeting with this Youko guy and you aren't sure you want to? Tell me that isn't the case. Or if it is the case, tell me when and where I can find him and I will hunt him up myself."

"Unfortunately, that will not be possible today. Youko is still wanted by the Storm King and having him show himself in the same area twice in one day could give them more direction than is good for any of us." All Alanna heard was her plans being tossed out the window, but Gildean understood the nuances and agreed.

"Maybe tomorrow will be better, onthe all thith wedding sthtuff thettleth down. That'll give everyone time to thtock up on Ogre Killer." Gildean laughed at his own wit and they enjoyed the rest of the ceremony.


	13. Chapter 13

At the reception, Alanna flirted with all the men. She had put a pen and a pad of paper in her purse in case she met any interesting people. She collected a good twenty-five names and numbers before dinner and another twenty afterward. Gildean gave them a ride back to his shop and Suichi picked up the things they had left there. Then Gildean gave them a ride to Suichi's house in the small hours of the morning.

At that same time, Holly and Jin were slipping away from the reception themselves. Koko and Hiei would see all the wedding gifts delivered to their home and that they were unwrapped, catalogued and thank you noted by the time the newlyweds got back from their honeymoon. They went to the hotel bridal suite where all was prepared for their big night.

Sitting on each pillow on the bed was a small package. One was marked "Jin" and the other "Holly" Each had a layer of tissue paper labeled, "Enjoy only when alone with –" and the name of the other party. It was signed with a paw-print and a tuft of red fur. Each package contained a dark brown wafer of a sweet, sticky substance. One taste and they could not stop until it was gone and then they started on each other.

And they lived Happily Ever After.

UNTIL…


	14. Epilogue

Jin was fast asleep and dreaming that Holly was snuggling her nose into his ear. Then she nibbled on the ear lobe. Jin reached for her and encountered a small, furry body. He let go and started to sit up, but a double set of claws in his head convinced him that was not a good idea. He reached his right hand over to where his wife lay beside him. The little furry thing went back to pulling his hair and purring as he shook Holly.

"Holly-luv, when did we get a cat?" He asked. The creature was now licking his hair down flat.

"Wha…? What are you talking about? We don't have a cat."

She reached for the light and when it came on was treated to the sight of a small red kitten attached to her husband's horn. She leaned back in shock and fell off the edge of the bed. She was just getting up when the kitten looked at her and said, "Hey Mum, look what I c'n do!" in a very familiar voice.

"Jinny? Sweety is that you?"

"Aye, it is. I'm a cat! I'm a kitty cat!"

"You change back this very instant young lady!" her mother demanded. The cat seemed unimpressed.

"Can't. I don't know how I did it. I just woke up like this. I came in to see if you could figure it out, but Da's hair was such a mess I got distracted." The cat went back to grooming Jin's hair. Jin and Holly looked at each other.

"I don't know how to shift to and from animal form," Holly said.

"And I nivver had an animal form ta shift ta," Jin said hopelessly. They both looked at their daughter who had pinned half of Jin's rebellious locks to his head with her paw and was trying to capture the remaining wayward bits. Holly sighed.

"I will have to call my father first thing in the morning. If I call him now, Kiki will kill me for waking the twins."


End file.
